How To Make Hair Shampoos

T. Bombeli, MD, BBA. As compared to

emulsion- based products (e.g. creams
and lotions) which require multiple
phases to produce, formulation of hair
shampoos is quite easy. A shampoo is basically a one- phase, water- based blend of
cleansing agents (surfactants) that
foams. Well, there are many other components that are added to shampoos, but
they are included only to achieve a better
performance like thickness, fragrance,
foam stability, color or pearlizing and
conditioning effects. Theoretically, a simple mix of surfactants and water would
suffice to clean the hair.
The first thing before starting to formulate
a shampoo is to determine who will be using
the shampoo (baby, adults, pets) and for
which hair type (oily, dry, dandruff, etc.). For
babies, for example, only the mild and lowfoaming secondary surfactants will be used,
whereas for an adult with greasy hair a high
amount of the strongly cleansing, primary surfactants with a foam booster will be used.
Surfactants
Like emulsifiers, surfactants (abbreviation of
SURFace ACTive Agents) are compounds able
to mix oils and water. Their cleansing effect is

from the skin in a watery environment. Based

on the cleansing and foaming property surfactants are divided into primary and secondary
surfactants (secondary surfactants are also
called co-surfactants). The primary surfactants
are the key components in shampoos responsible for foam and cleansing. The low-foaming
co-surfactants as cocoamidopropyl betaine or
sulfosuccinate are used to reduce the irritant
(eye burning) and drying effect of the primary
surfactants. In addition, some co-surfactants
have also conditioning effects like the betaines.
Thus, a blend of a primary and secondary surfactant and water is the backbone of a every
shampoo.

Gums have the advantage to act also as foam

stabilizer and suspending agent able to keep
insoluble particles like pigments or zinc pyrithione (anti-dandruff) in suspension. Gums do
not penetrate the skin as do other thickeners.

Thickeners
Nobody wants to use a water-thin shampoo
(although they would work as well as thick
ones). Thickness is perceived as richness.
There are several ways to make a shampoo
thick. Very effective viscosity enhancers are
salts like simple table salt (sodium chloride) or
ammonium chloride which work, however, only
with sulfonates or sulfates. Note, too high an
amount of salts make a shampoo more harsh.
Other effective thickeners are gums including
guar, xanthan and cellulose gum which increase viscosity by forming kind of a gel.

Hair shampoos contain

water, primary and secondary surfactants, thickeners, conditioners, foam
boosters, opacifiers,
preservatives, colors and
fragrances.

Shampoo Components
Component
Distilled water
Primary Surfactant

(Ref. C&T 2004; 119: 64-68)

Options

Sulfonates, Sulfates
(e.g. alkyl sulfonate)
Secondary Surfactant Betaines, Sulfosuccinates
(e.g. sulfosuccinate, coco
betaine, polyglucose)
Thickener
Salts (e.g. sodium chloride)
Gums (e.g. Guar, xanthan)
cellulose)
Conditioner
Quaternary compounds
(e.g. quaternium 87)
Foam booster
Sarcosinate, lactylates
Foam stabilizer
Gums (e.g. Guar, xanthan)
Suspending agent
Gums (e.g. Guar, xanthan)
Opacifier
Polyglycol esters (e.g.
glycol distearate)
Preservative
Parabens, urea derivatives
(e.g. Paraben-DU, EDTA)
Active ingredients
Vitamins, aloe vera etc.
Fragrance
Essential oils, artificial fragr.
Color
Approved pigments

Function
Basis
Cleansing, foaming

Amount (%)
50-80%
8-12 %

Cleansing, foaming
Reduces irritation
Reduces drying
Enhances viscosity

2-5 %

Smoothing, detangling

0.1-1%

Boosts foam
Stabilizes foam
Suspends solid particles
Pearlescent effect

1-2 %
0.1-1%

Avoids spoiling

0.1-0.5%

Depends on substance
Fragrance
Colors

as needed
as needed
as needed

2-5 %

1-2 %

Conditioners
Nowadays practically all shampoos contain a
conditioner of some type. Consumers expect
that their hair is smooth and conditioned after
shampooing. Most often conditioning agents
are quaternary surfactants (quats) which possess a positive charge that neutralize static
electricity caused by negatively charged damaged hair cuticles. Quats also have fatty
groups improving wet comb and gloss.

Foam Boosters / Stabilizers

Most people equate foaming with cleansing
and think that unless large amounts of foam
are generated, the hair will not be cleaned.
Although this is, of course, not true most of us
prefer to make shampoos that foam. Foam
boosters or foam stabilizers such as gums (eg.
guar or xanthan), sarcosinates and lactylates
are used very often.
Opacifiers
Opacifiers (pearlizers) make shampoos
pearles- cent which is perceived as richness
by most consumers. The most widely used
opacifiers in shampoos are glycol stearate and
glycol distearate. Both agents are also used to
hide a cloudy shampoo.
Preservatives
Every shampoo must be preserved unless it is
used up within a few days. Parabens and urea
derivatives are preferred (see also Newsletter
No. 1, July 2004).
Colors, Fragrances, Active Ingredients
Although colors and fragrances are not necessary to make a good shampoo, they add to the
shampoo experience and form thus a critical
part for the overall performance. In addition,
active ingredients like vitamins or botanicals
can improve further specific properties.

Copyright by Somerset Cosmetic Company, P.O. Box 3372, Renton, WA 98056

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